Reboot the Eragon/Inheritance Cycle film franchise

We, the undersigned, represent the Inheritance Cycle fan community. We have followed the world of Alagaësia and its beloved characters for over a decade and have become one of the longest-lasting fantasy communities in the book world. We believe in the potential for an Inheritance Cycle film franchise and ask that Fox 2000, rights holders for Inheritance films, consider rebooting Eragon and producing the other three books in the Cycle.

The film industry often defines a “flop” as a movie that fails to earn back its budget. Eragon more than doubled its reported $100 million budget. It opened to $23 million in the United States, earning a total of $75m during the entirety of its domestic run, and saw success overseas, grossing $174.4m for a total worldwide box office take of $249m.

Audience scores and the total box office take show that: the film did find an audience. The franchise’s true potential is clear; given the right treatment, the series will be a blockbuster. The Inheritance Cycle holds the potential to match the success of recent book-to-movie adaptations, including Twilight, Hunger Games, The Hobbit, and Harry Potter.

Christopher Paolini’s books have sold close to 40 million copies since Eragon’s release in 2003. The Inheritance Cycle’s position as a tent-pole book franchise at Random House Children’s Books and ability to dominate the best seller charts for years illustrates the strength of these works. Harnessing this powerful fantasy series and its millions of fans will ensure a megahit as Fox reboots the franchise.

Much has changed over the past decade; studios, including Fox, have made profitable, award winning movies from book adaptations by staying true to the formula that made these books beloved by their readers. Working with the authors and the series’ fans ensured smooth transitions to the big screen. The makers of these films, such as The Maze Runner (James Dashner, Fox), The Hunger Games (Susanne Collins, Lionsgate), and The Fault in Our Stars (John Green, Fox), regularly consulted with the authors, allowed the authors set access, remained in touch with the books’ fan communities, and gave the films proper treatment. They understood their universes and avoided the cheesiness that often plagues fantasy and sci-fi adaptations.

These films demonstrate the potential of a successful reboot of the Inheritance Cycle franchise:

How to Train Your Dragon and How to Train Your Dragon 2 grossed a combined $1.137 billion.

Peter Jackson’s three part Hobbit adaptation grossed $2.917 billion.

The Narnia film trilogy launched with a smash hit in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which grossed $745 million. Its two follow-ups grossed $419.6 and $415.6, for a total series take of $1.58 billion.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy conquered the box office with a combined $2.917 billion gross.

Hunger Games, Maze Runner, Divergent, Rise of the Guardians, and more total a box office gross in the billions.

HBO’s massive hit, Game of Thrones, demonstrates that a low-magic fantasy world filled with dragons, battles, and epic politics can attract tens of millions of viewers.

We are confident in Fox’s ability to breathe life back into the Inheritance Cycle on the big screen. Its effective adaptations in recent years demonstrate that the studio and its talented employees are capable of building a brilliant franchise out of Christopher Paolini’s work.